A group of schoolchildren from Fukushima will be participating in the Pan-Pacific Festival this weekend to show their gratitude to the people of Hawaii, who supported them in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear fallout.

The 36th annual festival, which features performers from the U.S. and Japan as well as local food vendors and crafters, kicks off on Friday and runs through Sunday. The festival has celebrated nearly four decades in Hawaii as a means of allowing Japanese visitors to share their music and crafts. On Friday, performing arts events will take place at Ala Moana Centerstage from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Waikiki Beach Walk Plaza Stage from noon to 3:30 p.m., and the Kuhio Beach Hula Mound from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing to 10 p.m., the Pan-Pacific Ho‘olaule‘a will bring a block party to Kalakaua Avenue with live entertainment on multiple stages, food booths and crafts. The festival culminates with a parade from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday as thousands of participants in colorful costumes will march down Kalakaua Avenue.

Over the years, the festival has served Japan as a sort of cultural goodwill ambassador. Kintetsu International Hawaii Co., the festival organizer, expects as many as 2,600 visitors from Japan and the mainland to participate in this year’s festival. Another 100,000 people are expected to attend this year’s event, which will include dancing girls from the group Fukushima Sato-no-Ko as part of a mission to thank Hawaii for its support in the months and years after the March 2011 tragedy.

Four years after the tragedy, Fukushima still suffers from the nuclear power plant disaster and reputational damage, said Sarijyu Hanayagi, head director of the Future of Traditional Japanese Culture General Incorporated Association, which was established to help Fukushima’s children realize their dreams through learning traditional Japanese culture. Despite the uncertain conditions, Hanayagi said, 10 girls from Fukushima city 11 to 17 years old have been studying traditional Japanese dance so that they can share it with the people of Hawaii, who have helped them rebuild their lives. The group is performing at its first Pan-Pacific festival.

“We feel that by being in touch with Hawaii’s abundant nature and clean fresh air, the spirit of aloha and your people’s love of multicultural diversity will be not only an inspiration for us, but will also help expand our own horizons, dreams and lead us to consider what we can do to rebuild Fukushima,” Hanayagi said.

Marian Moriguchi, who grew up in Alewa Heights but has lived in Fukushima for nearly three decades, is accompanying the group back home. Since the tragedy, Moriguchi has connected the people of Fukushima with the healing powers of Hawaii on numerous occasions. While the changes were challenging for adults, Moriguchi said she is more concerned about Fukushima’s displaced children. She previously assisted Fukushima Kenjin-kai, a Japanese prefectural association, with relief efforts and recruited children from Fukushima to participate in the Rainbow for Japan Kids respite program. Many of the children benefited from messages of hope from Hawaii residents, she said.

“Last April, when the cherry blossoms were blooming, people from Hawaii’s Fukushima Kenjin-Kai came to Fukushima and toured the prefecture,” Moriguchi said. “The girls performed for them and ever since have wanted to visit Hawaii.”

While hula is popular in Japan, Moriguchi said these students are focused on Japanese dance to help aid in Fukushima’s recovery.

“They have had to undergo many changes, but they want to preserve their culture and customs,” she said. “They think it’s important to share them with the world, and Hawaii was their first choice to start.”

During their first trip to Hawaii, Moriguchi said, the students will dance in at least two festival events and will give one additional performance. On Friday they will dance from 9:30 to 10 a.m. at Makiki Christian Church, Upper Social Hall. Later that night the group will participate in a bon dance from 8:40 to 9:10 p.m. on Kalakaua Avenue near the Moana Surfrider Hotel. On Saturday they will perform from 11:25 to 11:40 a.m. at Ala Moana Center.

“They’ll be dancing a lot; however, we have also planned for them to visit a Japanese school where they will teach about Japanese dancing,” Moriguchi said. “They’ll also go swimming at Ala Moana and have a picnic. This is a very special trip for all of them.”